Been a while

It occurred to me that I have not posted an update in some time. I suppose this could be taken as either a good sign (I've been busy living my life) or a bad sign (I've not felt well enough to do a blog post). Fortunately it's more of the former than the latter.

Last time I posted I was extolling the benefits of LDN. I still feel mostly the same about it but would like to stress again that it is not a cure. I am simply better able to function and experience much less of the "sickness behavior," that is having to take naps all the time, constantly feeling worn down, etc. It has effectively reduced many of my symptoms. Unfortunately my extreme food sensitivites have returned, so I continue to have to plan my meals very carefully and have to avoid many, many foods. This is frustrating but so far I do not know what else I can do to treat it, nor does it seem to be something that most convention MD's will know anything about. More on this later.

Continuing on the medications front, I have increased my dose of Florinef, a medication that helps the body retain water. So far I am unsure how much it is helping. I have also started a Beta Blocker to help with my POTS (a large increase in heart rate when going from supine to standing). After only a few days I am feeling this is quite helpful. I feel calmer and it seems to have increased my stamina.

Now, back to food sensitivity. The more I read on this the more that I am convinced that it plays a key part in my illness. The root cause of food sensitivities seem to all lead back to a condition called Leaky Gut Syndrome. From wikipedia:

It is hypothesized to be caused by increased permeability of the gut wall resulting from toxins, poor diet, parasites, infection, or medications.^[2] The leaky gut then allows substances such as toxins, microbes, undigested food, waste, or larger than normal macromolecules leak through an abnormally-permeable gut wall. Proponents propose that these out of place substances affect the body directly or initiate an immune reaction.^[3]

I've noticed for many years now that I feel my best when I have not eaten for several hours. My hypothesis is that this is due to the fact that after this amount of time any immune reaction to foods I've had as a result of LGS has dissipated. Now, there are supposedly many different mechanisms for causing increased permeability of the gut wall. One is antibiotic use (which I've had plenty of). My guess is that stress can play a role in this too. I was extremely stressed throughout much of middle school and high school, right around the time I developed CFS, and I believe this also contributed to developing Leaky Gut Syndrome. Now I just need to know how to successfully treat and reverse it. For that I may need to go back to a naturopathic doctor.